EPA awards Crook County $200K for revitalization of property in Sundance, Wyo.

(Denver, Colorado – April 20, 2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $200,000 brownfields grant to the Crook County (Wyo.) Museum District to revitalize a contaminated property at 108 North Fourth Street in the town of Sundance.

"Strengthening our nation’s communities is one of EPA’s top priorities,” said Carol Rushin, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator in Denver. "This grant will help Crook County transform a contaminated property into a much-needed cultural and economic asset.”

The $200,000 brownfields grant will be used to remove metals and inorganic contaminants at the Old Stoney Renovation Project site. Constructed in 1923, the building operated as a school until 1971, and was also used for a short time for offices and storage.

Set in the heart of Sundance, the Museum District plans to reuse the site as a much-needed County Museum and Cultural Center. The planned redevelopment is expected to create more than a dozen new jobs, expand the local tax base, and enhance property values. Crook County currently has no venues for cultural research, art classes, local theater productions, and community events.

Nationwide, EPA is providing $78.9 million for brownfields projects in communities in 40 states, four tribes, and one U.S. Territory. This funding will be used for the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of properties, including abandoned gas stations, old textile mills, closed smelters, and other abandoned industrial and commercial properties.

The brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites. As of March 2010, EPA’s brownfields assistance has leveraged more than $14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding, and 61,277 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment. Many of these investments target under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, providing for much needed jobs, jumpstarting businesses and reducing environmental and human health risks.